We are setting the scene today, a Megan McKenna country music playlist and the kids playing in the background while we are reading through her new cookbook titled ‘Love Gluten Free’ to inspire us for a weekend full of good food.

This is the second cookbook from UK country music singer/songwriter and TV personality Megan McKenna who is highlighting the struggles of coeliac disease which she was diagnosed with as a child. The first book, Can You Make That Gluten Free? met much critical acclaim and really enabled those who suffer from the same diagnosis, to be confident in their cooking. Anyone who is coeliac knows it can be hard to find gluten free food, especially in restaurants (hence the name of the first book). Restaurants are getting much better though but are enough people confident enough to make more than the basic dinner at home?

If there is one celebrity working mum to follow and be inspired by in the kitchen then for us, it’s definitely Megan McKenna. A new mum last year to an adorable boy named Landon, Megan has faced so much criticism from online trolls which is unacceptable. We as mums are self critical daily but what we do need from time to time is for someone to simply say, you’re doing a great job and she is!

Whether you are a working mum or a stay at home mum, or not a mum at all, it can be really easy to lack motivation in the kitchen for various reasons. For me, it has always been about exhaustion, lack of confidence and juggling too many things at once. I don’t usually use cookbooks – I have just never been keen on doing so as I tend to stress if I can’t follow the recipe correctly! Sometimes recipes can be full of too much jargon and have too many complicated steps and skills that I have no time nor patience to obtain. What I did find with Can You Make That Gluten Free? however, is that the recipes were very easy to follow and more importantly, they made me feel really good about myself afterwards. “Hallelujah!” I would say to myself. I can cook more than my usual Spaghetti Bolognaise and other basic recipes. I found a new sense of pride and enjoyed seeing the faces of my family when they tried the food. I never saw myself as being that mum who cooked gourmet food but Megan seems to completely understand those self defeating thoughts and tells us and shows us that we really can do it! It isn’t just fancy meals though, it’s simple side dishes that you would assume are difficult to make!

Megan’s last book taught me to make a very decent homemade burger, something I was never able to achieve. I learned how to make a delicious tomato soup from scratch which I always felt was beyond my capabilities. Her recipes are great in the sense of, once you have closely followed the recipe a few times, you then remember how to do it without it and then your cooking and preparation time is halved!

It isn’t just her cookbook that helps inspire individuals though. If you follow Megan on socials, she regularly posts videos of her cooking with a calming and fun step by step narrative that really makes you want to get cooking. The posts definitely make you hungry and tempted to turn up at her home and say “ooh did I catch you whilst making dinner? *hint hint*” (not that we know where she lives or would actually do this but you get the point.)

The fact the book is Gluten Free inspired doesn’t mean people who aren’t Gluten free can’t use it, we do! It’s great to be aware of the challenges coeliac’s face and you just never know when you are hosting a guest who suffers from it! A lot of these recipes are cooking from scratch so not only will you know more about what you are eating but it also feels uplifting.

In this book, ‘Love Gluten Free’, Megan has gone the extra mile and included even more recipes we couldn’t have dreamed of ever making. She has included a fakeaway (take out) chapter where you can make takeaway food which is just as good, if not better than you would get at a takeaway. Not only is this cost effective but it again controls what you are putting into to your bodies.

As we are a mostly country music site, we are going to focus on some of the southern inspired food from the USA. There are recipes of food inspired from all over the world and we will try many at home but for now, let’s focus on what we may find in Downtown Nashville.

Firstly, I have personally always been “not too bad” at making Mac and cheese (with two cheeses), however, I have never made it with the crumble topping. Our next mission is to attempt Megan’s Three-cheese crispy mac & cheese. This can be made as a main or a side dish. Like Megan, we always used cheddar and Red Leicester but never thought to use mozzarella!!! She also uses Gluten-Free bread to make her breadcrumbs. Why have I wasted money buying breadcrumbs all these years? Seems silly now! Although, sometimes we do need an easy option.

Just take a look at this creamy and crumbly end result which we really hope to achieve! There are a lot of ingredients we never would have thought of to make it like this. Grab a copy of the book to have a glance at how she makes it so delicious.

Honey and barbecue chicken strips – well dang! We definitely want to try that recipe.

As the book states; The Chicken Strips are breadcrumbed and fried so the outside is crunchy but the inside stays really tender. Megan serves this with her Homemade Ranch Dip & Paprika and Garlic Wedges which she also has recipes for within her book.

It’s the side dishes that never would have occurred to me to make. If you want to put on an American themed spread then look no further than this book!

Jalapeño Creamed Corn. A simple four step recipe and boom! You have a restaurant styled dish! The perfect side dish for many main, I feel this will be a recipe we will know by heart in no time and will become one of our much loved signature dishes.

In the book Megan explains that whenever she is in Nashville, Buffalo Chicken Bites are always on the menu. She dips hers in blue cheese sauce/dip (also a recipe in the book) paired with fresh celery sticks to break up the hot sauce tingle!

Another 4 step recipe is her Big McK Fries. Who needs a takeaway? Great pairing with her famous Burger Bowls recipe, the sauce on these fries as she says, makes it into something very special. The sauce is simply just mixing some ingredients in a bowl and sprinkling and seasoning. We won’t tell you the exact method as you will have to get the book for that!

Now it isn’t a cook book without some desserts. Megan’s McK apple pies will likely give McDonalds a run for their money with their popular version. With this recipe, you don’t necessarily have to make your own pastry so can just buy pastry sheets. Simply make the filling in this easy three step recipe and you won’t want to go to McDonalds for pudding again!

There are so many diverse recipes in this book, some that will take more time than others but this book is separated into chapters that will help with what mood you are in or how much time you have. Grab a copy, take your time and pick out some favourites that you want to try and maybe you will surprise yourself how much of a good cook you can be, that is of course, if you aren’t already! If you are, this book is still very much worth getting!

Love Gluten Free is available across many online stores such as Amazon, W H Smith , Asda and more!

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